18 June 2008
My day at Perdido Key was just about perfect. I'd found two new snowy
plover nests, a field of wildflowers and finally got the south shore
high tide line GPSd. The only thing that could have made it better was a
Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys
kempi) nest.
We didn't have a nest, but these two gentlemen, Captain Dave Mucci and
Jeremy Brown from
Blue Water Adventures found this Kemp's ridley floating near
Pensacola Pass. Jeremy jumped in to rescue the turtle, who was tangled
in fishing line and had a new boat strike.
Left in the wild, this turtle may not have survived. The cuts from the
entanglement were pretty deep, and the propeller wounds will need some
attention to prevent infection, but the turtle should do well. She's at
Gulf World now in Panama City. In a few months, we hope to see her
or him, back in the sea. S/he almost looks like s/he's crying here, but
it's really just a means of excreting excess salt. Crying sounds more
poetic!
Kemp's ridleys are one of the most critically endangered species in our
oceans. They are recovering, thanks to years of effort from a variety of
groups, including Texas A&M,
Padre Islands National Seashore and
Sea Turtles, Inc. just to name a few. Twenty years ago, there were
an estimated 700 adult females, the current estimate is closer to 3,000.
It's still no where near the historic populations that used to nest in
giant arribadas in Rancho Neuvo, but it's an improvement... Every little
bit helps!
An action such as today's rescue may seem small, but it's incredibly
important for the survival of these critically endangered animals. Thank
you, Dave and Jeremy!!!
15 July 2008
The day started out very well today... Monica and I drove to the
Gulfarium in Destin to pick up YYN 568, aka "Loco." It was
time to release s/him to the wild after about three weeks of care and
training.
The day started out very well today... Monica and I drove to the
Gulfarium in Destin to pick up YYN 568, aka "Loco." It was
time to release s/him to the wild after about three weeks of care and
training.
Amanda and the folks in Destin taught our little
TED research escapee how to feed well enough to survive in
the wild. Captain Dave and Jeremy Brown took us to sea aboard the Y
Knot. These two gentlemen from
Blue Water Adventures rescued an entangled
Kemp's ridley a few weeks ago.
You can see they have an affinity for this little
loggerhead, even though Loco is trying to swim through the
air.
S/he acted the same way with Monica. Clearly, this turtle was
ready to return to the Gulf of Mexico. Hope we'll see him or her
represented in the nesting population in about 20 more years!
Amanda took many of the photos with my camera today while I returned
Loco the the sea.
Amanda took many of the photos with my camera today while I
returned Loco the the sea.
It was so hard to see Loco leave, but s/he was quite at home, dashing
instantly for the sea floor. I should have some good pictures from
Jeremy (who's in the water) in a day or so... Thanks, Mark, for letting
us take the day to return this animal to it's natural home!
